Malta students ‘Fall into Reading’

Malta Elementary School hosted “Fall into Reading,” a family literacy night, on Oct. 18. The event was spearheaded by Linda Tyrrell, Title I reading teacher.

“We wanted to present a fun evening promoting literacy for our families,” Tyrrell said in a news release. “The night included reading activities, strategies to help children understand content material, a pumpkin decorating station and even the opportunity to pet creepy and crawly critters brought in from the Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore.

“We also offered a book swap, which was a great hit! We plan on offering this again in the future as well,” Tyrrell said in the release.

Nearly a third of the students enrolled at Malta Elementary attended the evening.

“I got a new book from the book swap and we went home and read it right away!” kindergartener Emmy Magill said in the release.

“My favorite part of the evening was the Creepy Crawly session,” first-grader Hannah Mekjian said. “I got to pet a snake and see a tarantula!”

Other students enjoyed having stories read to them by their parents in a school setting.

Malta Elementary will host at least two more Family Literacy Nights this school year as part of its ongoing initiative to form a strong bond between home and school.

“If parents are involved in the educational process and are given strategies to use at home, students are more likely to succeed,“ Principal Troy Miller said in the release.

The next family involvement night, “Be a Team Player,” is scheduled for November. Families will be given the opportunity to complete certain tasks as a family-team. The purpose of the night is to have students and their families work together on educational games while having fun.